Perón, Eva (‘Evita’) Duarte de (1919-1952)

Argentine populist leader. A successful radio actor, she became the second wife of Juan Perón in 1945. When he became president the following year, she became his chief adviser and virtually ran the health and labour ministries, devoting herself to helping the poor, improving education, and achieving women's suffrage. She founded a social welfare organization called the Eva Perón Foundation. She was politically astute and sought the vice-presidency in 1951, but was opposed by the army and withdrew. After her death from cancer in 1952, Juan Perón's political strength began to decline.